Next Up: Melladaze

The chance of five strangers becoming a band and, on top of it, getting along is one in a million. But when Little Mix, the biggest girl group in the world, makes the decision for you, it changes things. On their reality TV contest, ‘The Search,’ the Little Mix girls picked Alisii, Ellie, Lauren, Liv, and Megan to form a band. Today, they are known as a pop/R&B group Melladaze, who just came out with a debut release, ‘I H8 U’.

Even though they’re all from similar backgrounds, all grew up doing musical theatre; it is not an ordinary way to get together and start a career. But if Little Mix believes in you, you automatically trust their instincts. Melladaze were close runner-ups and built such a strong bond that even without management or any outside financial investment, and with the pandemic raging all around them, they set to work, collaborating with songwriters, producers, and choreographers, honing their look and their sound.

If I may say myself, Melladaze has already shown such a level of perseverance and determination; they’re onto a better start than most. Choosing ‘I H8 U’ as their debut single, Melladaze introduces their pop playful sound with a little twist of honesty.

As much as ‘I H8 U’ was an unexpected writing session, it also comes as a homage to their mentors’ smash hit ‘Shout Out To My Ex,’ with an extra Melladaze mark. As they all come from different places, the challenge of working together is even bigger, but the show has taught them that it is always worth it in the end despite the hurdles.

What were your separate musical journeys before you became Melladaze?

Lauren: Funnily enough we all have similar backgrounds, we all grew up doing musical theatre and always listening to music.

Aisli: Yeah I think maybe that was one of the reasons we all got on so well from the get go!

Could you talk about your experience on Little Mix: The Search?

Megan: Our experience on Little Mix: The Search was amazing! We worked with so many different people and got so much advice to take with us throughout our career.

Liv: It definitely helped prepare us for the future and we made so many memories that we’ll genuinely never forget!

Ellie: Living together was so fun too, we had the chance to properly bond and get to know each other and grow together as a band.

What were the most valuable lessons you’ve taken away from the contest?

Lauren: We learnt so much each week mentally, physically and emotionally. It was a crazy experience especially because of covid too. Little Mix gave us loads of advice about how to deal with comments online, not everyone is going to be your number 1 fan and at the end of the day people will hate regardless.

Liv: 100%. Covid was a killer! There were a few delays in the show where we had to keep practising at home together and on zoom but it was fun learning choreography and helping each other out

Aisli: Yeah, learning choreography was so fun. I think we’re really good at pushing and encouraging each other to reach our maximum potential. That’s definitely something we’ve taken with us!

What was the main driving force behind continuing on as Melladaze?

Megan: We all wanted to be in the industry from a young age and being put together and working as a 5 made us realise that we love being together in a band! This is what we all want to do for the rest of our lives!

What kind of music did you intend to make as a girl group?

Ellie: We’ve been working so hard exploring our sound and trying out different styles of music. Right now it’s definitely pop with a bit of R&B! It’s fun taking inspiration from our favourite artists because there’s such a variety of styles!

Aisli: At the moment we think we’ve found the best style for us! We can’t wait to share more of our music with everyone.

What were the biggest challenges about being separated during the lockdown and not being able to make music in person?

Megan: It was so difficult not being together during lockdown, mainly because we’re super close but we spoke everyday regardless on Zoom, FaceTime, Snapchat everything!!

Lauren: Yeah we’re from 5 different places so even now it can be difficult but we always make it work despite challenges because in the end it’s always worth it!

How do your writing sessions look like?

Liv: Our writing sessions are always so much fun and just good vibes. We bounce off one another so much and each of us bring so many different ideas which leads to creating some Melladaze magic.

How was ‘I H8 U’ created?

Aisli: It was actually really unexpected. It was a slightly different style for us in comparison to our other songs but by the time we had finished the session we had all fallen in love with it! It was just so fun and carefree, we had really good vibes in the studio.

Ellie: It was easy to write as we wanted the song to be as relatable as possible but not your typical breakup song hence the playful vibes.

What did you want to express with the accompanying music video?

Megan: We really wanted to express our fun, bubbly selves when we’re together as a group and just keep the video as organic as possible giving people an insight of our personalities and what we really get up to!

What can we expect from you in the future?

Lauren: We’ve got so much exciting stuff planned! We really want to follow in Little Mix’s footsteps; the same way we look up to them we would love to have people look up to us!

Liv: We can’t wait to put out more music and grow as artists.

Megan: Expect the unexpected!